Tragedy in Asia:

The most powerful earthquake in 40 years triggered massive tidal waves that hit coastlines across Asia on Sunday, killing more than 7,000 people in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, India, Thailand and Malaysia. Tourists, fishermen, hotels, homes and cars were swept away by walls of water unleashed by the 8.9-magnitude earthquake, centred off the west coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, where at least 1,870 people were killed by floods and collapsing buildings, officials said. But the scope of the disaster became apparent only after waves as high as 6 metres crashed into coastal areas throughout the Indian Ocean and Andaman Sea. In Sri Lanka - some 1,000 miles west of the epicentre - the death toll stood at 2,425, according to a military spokesman. One million more were affected by the surging wall of water, the government said. Indian officials said as many as 1,130 had been killed along the southern coast. Another 198 were confirmed dead in Thailand, 42 in Malaysia and 2 in Bangladesh. Thousands of people were missing, many of them fishermen at sea, and rescue workers struggled against floodwaters to find and evacuate stranded victims. The death toll has climbed throughout the day and is expected to grow even higher as more bodies are discovered. Hundreds of bodies were found on various beaches along India's southern state of Tamil Nadu, and more are expected to be washed in by the sea, officials said.